The Dragon's Lament
by Penybright
Summary: Part 3 is up! You've come to take me away again... What adventures await us this time? she smiled wistfully. He responded with his own melancholy smile.
1. Default Chapter

~ Okay,this was inspired by the fact that I couldn't sleep, and was feeling lonely and depressed. I think it turned out well though. This actually has three parts. If this part is liked well enough, I'll post the other two. Please review! PLEASE! 

The Dragon's Lament 

She had promised, promised that she'd never forget him. He knew he could never forget her. Those pale orbs of green jade were imprinted forever in his mind's eye. He had willingly let her go. 

He was a fool. 

He had allowed the one thing, person he cherished, to slip from his grasp without a struggle. He didn't protest, didn't fight for his treasure. He hadn't fought back, struggled, nothing. How could he? He had stood by, peacefully watching his goddess float to the heavens and away from him. 

It was tearing him up inside. 

Had he done the right thing? Should he have held her tightly to him, never letting her go? He had done the unthinkable, let his one true love go. And now, now he was destined to live his life alone. Solitary and alone. 

For a while, he found respite in his dreams, the few times he could actually sleep. In his dreams he had been able to hold his sorrows at bay. He drowned them in a dark, roiling sea of turmoil. The turmoil in his heart. For a time, he found escape. He managed to see her again. She was a lovely vision to behold. Eyes clear and bright, her face framed by strands of golden brown. Her smile would melt away his worries, it's brightness uplifting his heavy soul. But, to soon the dreams faded to nightmares. 

His sorrows learned to swim. 

They learned to swim, and plagued him relentlessly. They surrounded him, plunging him into a chilling blackness. He could find no escape. In reality, he was pulled down by his heavy heart and faltering soul. In dreams, he was yanked into a sea of sorrow that was bottomless, and that he never resurfaced from. His sorrows he could no longer hold at bay, were drowning him. The roiling ocean he had held them in overflowed. They spilled out, cascading over his bleeding heart. 

He had let her go. 

His past was filled with regret, and his future a dull bleakness. His friends had tried to comfort him. They attempted to ease his pain. In the end they failed. Only one person could bring him back, and she was gone. His deep, spiraling depression had come when he had lost contact with her. 

It had been two years since then. 

The young King of Fanalia was a hollow shell of what and who he had once been. His fiery red-brown eyes were now a dull, faded brown. Dark circles caressed the skin beneath his dying orbs. His once vibrant, ebony hair was now limp and lifeless, it's color faded to a mute gray. Once tan skin was sickly pale, pallid and white. All that was let of him was skin and bones. He was a lifeless shell. He was like a baby, no longer able to do anything on his own, to weak to help himself. He laid in bed all day unable to move as he stared blankly at the ceiling, his breath shallow. 

He had let her go. 

Waves of regret washed over him, as a sob was torn from his throat. Tears no longer offered release for him. He had no more tears to shed. All the killing and death, the horrors of war, had finally caught up with him when he realized she was gone forever. Their weight broke his shoulders and shattered his soul. There was nothing left for him now. 

It was all over. 

He would find peace only in death. And so, the young king sighed his last words, before going to his eternal peace. 

"You... promised you would never forget me..." 


	2. Shattered

~ Thank you sooo much to everyone who reviewed The Dragon's Lament! Here's part 2. I should get part 3 out soon. 

Disclaimer: Guess what? If you didn't already know... I don't own Escaflowne etc., etc., etc. 

Shattered 

She felt a sharp, twisting pain in her chest, and gasped. She immediately rushed over to her desk, yanking open the drawer and searching for the buried treasure within. When she finally found it, she picked it up with trembling fingers. With rising dread, she lifted the corner of the material holding her most prized possession. A sob escaped her lips, and the feather floated gently to the floor. 

The stark, black feather. 

She attempted to choke back her sobs, which only resulted in bringing a waterfall of tears from her eyes. It couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. Why? How? It just didn't make any sense. Was this just some cruel joke played on her by some omnipotent deity. 

She loved him, he couldn't die. She had to see him, be assured that what she saw wasn't true. Maybe it was just her imagination, or a trick of the lighting. She picked up the soft feather and looked at it closely. She began to cry in earnest when she realized it was true. His once dazzling and pristine white feather was now a dull sable. She clutched the feather to her cheek, her tears wetting its soft bristles. 

What could have possibly happened to him? He was strong. He would never allow himself to be beaten. Then how... In her mind, she heard him softly whisper. 

"You... promised you would never forget me..." 

She dropped the feather, jerking away from it as if burned. He wouldn't... No, he would never give up like that! But... he had. His spirit had been broken... by her. Her lack of communication had caused this. 

Why could she never find true happiness? The only time she had ever been truly happy, at peace, was when she was with him. In his arms, the world melted away, leaving her in a jubilant bliss. She would never find that peace again. All because she left. 

Now, they were separated by more than mere worlds. Now they were separated by the chasm of death. She wasn't sure how long that separation would last, how long she could live without him. He hadn't deserved this. He had suffered so much already. 

No, it wouldn't be long now. He would come to take her away. He would hold her close, enveloping her in his warmth and love. His pure wings would shelter her. At last, together they would find peace. 

"I never forgot you..." she whispered. She knew he would come. It would be soon now... 

~ Don't worry! This isn't the end. There's still one more part left! 


	3. Final Peace?

~ Sorry it took so long to get this last part out. Midterms sort of popped up out of nowhere. Anyway, Maybe things will make a little more sense now. Then again, maybe this will just confuse you further. Who knows? Tell me what you think. 

Disclaimer: Do you have to even ask? Nope, Escaflowne isn't mine. (It's quite a shock, I'm sure) 

Final Peace? 

"Hitomi," a soft voice whispered. She looked at the person speaking to her through blurry eyes. She sighed softly upon recognizing him. He had come for her... 

"Van? Is it really you?" she mumbled. He smiled tenderly, looking down upon her face peacefully. 

"It's really me, Hitomi." 

"You've come to take me away again... What adventures await us this time?" she smiled wistfully. He responded with his own melancholy smile. 

"It's time to go," he said, his face becoming serious. 

"I understand." 

He bent down and gently scooped her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. Oddly, in his embrace she felt warm, not cold. A beam of soft, rosy light enveloped the pair, bathing them in its pale luminescence. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back, and there was a soft snap. Snowy wings unfurled from his back, and the two found themselves floating upwards... 

********** 

"Van!" Hitomi cried, snapping wake drenched in sweat. She threw the covers back and jumped out of bed. She ran over to her desk, yanking the drawer open and pulling out Van's feather. Hitomi let out a heavy sigh of relief when she saw it was still the same pearly white. Her dream had been so real... 

The feather in her hands began to fade to gray, and Hitomi gasped. 

"No! It's not going to happen this way. I have to see him. Van, I love you!" Hitomi cried, squeezing her eyes shut. 

Her eyes snapped open when she felt herself beginning to float upwards. There was a blinding flash, and Hitomi landed on a dark roadside. She glanced quickly at the sky, and saw that she was on Gaea. Her attention quickly snapped back to the road. More specifically, the event taking place there. 

A group of raiders were apparently attacking a lone rider. When the column of light appeared, they had stopped beating their victim. Startled, the raiders took what they had come for and ran. Hitomi quickly ran over to the limp, battered figure lying on the road. There was a sharp intake of breath as Hitomi recognized the person. 

"Van?" 

She knelt down beside him, gently turning him onto his back. He groaned and clutched his side. Hitomi saw sticky red blood flowing over his hands, and momentarily panicked. She regained her wits, ripping a section of cloth from her shirt, bunching it and pressing it to Van's wound. 

"Hi- Hitomi...?" Van stuttered hazily. She shushed him, and placed his hands over the wad of cloth at his side. Hitomi glanced over Van, and noticed a patch of bloodstained hair, and that his right leg was bent at an odd angle. 

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Hitomi mumbled angrily. 

"Lord Van!?!" a gruff voice shouted. 

"Over here!" Hitomi cried, relief flooding through her. 

********** 

That had been a month ago. Apparently, Van had gone out for an evening ride alone, unaware that raiders were in the area. His samurai had given chase as soon as they discovered where their king had gone. It was lucky they had. Hitomi was still on Gaea, and had no intention of leaving. Lost in her thoughts, Hitomi was startled when a strong arm wrapped around her waist. 

"What are you thinking about?" Van asked calmly. 

"How do you manage to sneak up on me, even with a broken leg?" Hitomi teased, hugging him. Van wrapped his other arm around her, hugging her back. 

"Shouldn't you be arguing with your advisors or doing something kingly?" Hitomi queried. 

"They were beginning to bore me," Van replied. "Besides, I'd rather talk to my fiancé." 

"Only three more months till the wedding," Hitomi sighed happily. Van smiled as Hitomi leaned against him. Yes, Hitomi decided. She was definitely here to stay. 

~ Is this the end? The beginning? Or another dream? You decide. 


End file.
